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Haarlem/ London (pte052/03.04.2003/18:55) - The war in Iraq has catapulted Arabian TV station Al-Jazeera and its online news portal http://www.aljazeera.net into the spotlight, as Internet users from all over the world flock to the site to get information on the situation in Iraq.
Over a week into the war, Al-Jazeera has climbed to the top of the 'Lycos 50' list of most requested phrases on the search engine Lycos http://www.lycos.com . On the list for only the second time, the Arabian news service has jumped from spot 38 to the top, ranking just ahead of the search request "War on Iraq". Currently at third place is new addition "Prisoners of War". Other regulars on the list such as Britney Spears (spot 15) or Jennifer Lopez (spot 26) - each on the list for 189 weeks - have had to make way for the newcomers. The Bible (spot 25) has been on the list for 186 weeks.
The English version of the Al-Jazeera portal, formerly accessible under http://english.aljazeera.net , is expected to go back online in April. The site was brought down by hackers.
In another development, an Al-Jazeera reporter has been expelled from Baghdad. As announced by the Iraqi Information Ministry, the government has expelled correspondent Taysir Alluni and imposed a work restriction on reporter Diyar al-Omari. According to the BBC, Al-Jazeera claims no specific reason was provided for the measures.
Al-Jazeera has issued a statement saying: "We regret the unexpected and unjustified measure." The station said it would temporarily halt all of its correspondents' activities in Iraq. The station does however intend to continue transmitting live video footage from its offices in Baghdad, Basra and Mosul.
According to the BBC, a total of eight correspondents work for Al-Jazeera in Iraq. Last week CNN reporters were forced to leave the country. (newsfox-special Iraq)
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